Device for a vacuum cleaner

ABSTRACT

This invention relates to a device for a vacuum cleaner comprising a cyclone chamber ( 10 ) and a collecting container ( 21 ) arranged in association with the cyclone chamber for particles separated by the cyclone. The cyclone chamber comprises an inlet ( 14 ) for dust laden air, a particle outlet ( 17 ) for particles separated by the cyclone and on outlet ( 15 ) for cleaned air. The lastmentioned outled is connected to a vacuum source and the particle outlet ( 15 ) for cleaned air. The lastmentioned outled is connected to a vacuum source and the particle outlet ( 17 ) is via a tube ( 18 ) ending in the collecting container ( 21 ). The collecting container comprises a dust bag ( 37 ) for collecting the dust particles which is a part of a continuous tube ( 31 ) of non air pervious material intended to create several bags. The invention also relates to a cassette intended to be used at the device.

This application claims the benefit of International Application No.PCT/SE03/00315, which was published in English on Sep. 18, 2003.

This invention relates to a device for a vacuum cleaner comprising acyclone chamber and a collecting container arranged in association withthe cyclone chamber for particles separated by the cyclone, the cyclonechamber comprising an inlet for dust laden air and an outlet forparticles separated by the cyclone as well as an outlet for cleaned airthe lastmentioned outlet being connected to a vacuum source and theparticle outlet via a tube ending in the collecting container. Theinvention also relates to a cassette to be used at the device.

Vacuum cleaners in which the particles are separated by means of cycloneaction are previously known, see for instance U.S. Pat. No. 4,463,748.For such vacuum cleaners conventional filter bags in which the particlesare separated and collected are not used. These vacuum cleaners areinstead provided with a container to which the particles aresuccessively distributed when the air/particle flow is rotated in acylindrical separation chamber the particles by influence of thecentrifugal forces being thrown towards the periphery of the chamberwhere the inlet of the container is placed. When the container has beenfilled it is removed from the vacuum cleaner and is emptied in a dustbin or the like. However, this is from an hygienic point of view notparticullarly satisfying and consequently other arrangements have beenproposed, see U.S. Pat. No. 6,168,641. At the lastmentioned arrangementthe collecting container encloses a bag, for instance a plastic bag, inwhich the particles are collected. When the bag has been filled it isremoved and thrown together with the content. This means a more hygienichandling of the dust bag with its content than the previously knownarrangements.

For conventional vacuum cleaners, i.e. such vacuum cleaners whereseparation takes place because the air flow is directed through thefilter material of the bag it has previously been suggested, seeEP322387, to use a tube shaped, folded filter web placed about an inlettube in a separate chamber adjacent a bag space. By pulling out the freeend of the filter web and closing it by means of a closing device at thesame time as the the web is cut off a new bag is formed each time a newbag is to be replaced. Even if such an arrangement gives a simplifiedhandling when changing the bag at conventional vacuum cleaners there isdisadvantages with respect to the hygiene since the bag is air permeablewhich means that dust particles will deposite at the outside of the bagand hence make the operator dirty when handling the bag.

The purpose of this invention is to achieve an improved bag replacementsystem for a so called cyclone vacuum cleaner and this is achieved bymeans of a device having the characteristics mentioned in the claims.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference tothe accompanying drawing on which FIG. 1 schematically shows a verticlasection through a part of a cyclone vacuum cleaner whereas FIG. 2 is asection on the line II-II in FIG. 1.

As appears from the figures the vacuum cleaner according to theinvention comprises a cyclone chamber 10 which is limited by acylindrical side wall 11 and a first and second end wall 12 and 13 resp.The cyclone chamber has a preferably tangentially directed inlet 14 thatis connected to a vacuum cleaner nozzle or the like, not shown, throughwhich dust laden air flows into the cyclone chamber. The cyclone chamber10 is also provided with an air outlet 15 that is centrally placed andthat via a passage 16 is connected to a vacuum source, not shown, suchas an electrically driven fan unit. Thus, the air which has been freedfrom particles leave through the air outlet 15. The passage 16 iscoaxial with the cyclone chamber and extends somewhat into the chamberat the central part of the first end wall 12. The cyclone chamber alsohas a peripheral particle outlet 17 arranged close to the second endwall 13.

The particle outlet 17 continues into a cylindrical tube part 18 that isparalell to the cyclone chamber 10 and is closed at one of its ends bymeans of a wall part 19 whereas its second free end 20 extends into acollecting container 21 surrounding the tube part 18. The tube part 18encloses a screw conveyor 22 driven by an electric motor 23 via a shaft24 extending through the wall part 19. The current or power of theelectric motor is sensed and influences in a suitable way the electriccircuit, not shown, of the vacuum cleaner. The tube part also has anaxially extending ridge 25 streching between the particle outlet 17 andthe free end 20 of the tube part 18. The screw conveyor 22, thatpreferably is made of plastic is flexible in the radial direction and isshaped such that it has an outer diameter that is considerably less thanthe inner diameter of the tube part 18 which means that the periphery ofthe screw conveyor has a comparatively large play with respect to thesurrounding tube wall and also a certain play to the ridge 5.

The collecting container 21 comprises two tube halves 26 each having afirst and second end wall 27, 28 the tube halves each being supported bya hinge 29 arranged at the outside of the tube part 1S. The two firstend walls 27 are shaped such that they surrond the tube part 18 whereasthe the second end walls 28 together form a bottom in the collectingcontainer. The tube halves 26 can thus be turned from and towards oneanother in order to admit insertion and removal of a cassette 30containing a folded tube 31 of a non air permeable material such asplastic.

The cassette 30 has two coaxial sleeve shaped parts 32 and 33 withdifferent diameters the parts at one of their ends being connected toone another by means of an end wall 34 whereby an annular chamber iscreated between the sleeve shaped parts in which the folded tube isstored. Also at the other end of the sleeves there is an and wall 35this however being shaped such that a circular slot 36 is formed throughwhich the tube is pulled out in order to form a bag 37 in the collectingcontainer 21.

Between the cassette 30 and the tube part 18 there is an annular sealing38 such that the inside of the bag is sealed from the space 39 outsidethe bag. The lastmentioned space is also via a tubular conduit 40connected to the passage 16.

The tube halves 26 which jointly form the collecting container 21comprise a sealing and separating device 41 which is placed in thepartition plane between the second end walls 28. The lastmentioneddevice preferably comprises a heat creating means that when the bag ischanged forms a welding joint 42 of a new bag 37 at the same time as awelding joint 43 closing the opening of a used bag 37 a is created andwhich also separates the bags 37 and 37 a from one another.

The device operates in the following manner. When the fan unit isstarted dust laden air will be sucked in tangentially through the inlet14 into the cyclone chamber 10 thereby creating a vortex which meansthat the particles in the air will be thrown towards the periphery ofthe cyclone chamber and leave through the particle outlet 17 whereas theair being free from particles leaves through the air outlet 15 towardsthe fan unit from which the air, possibly via one or severalconventional filters leaves to atmosphere. The separated particles,which from the particle outlet 17 are distributed into the tube part 18,will by means of the rotating screw conveyor 22 successively be movedinto the bag 37 a where they are collected on the bottom of the bag. Theridge 25 and the radial flexibility of the screw conveyor increases thepossibility for larger objects to pass through the system to the bag.Allen the bag 37 a is successively filled the screw conveyor willcompact the content in the bag whereby the screw conveyor 22 is exposedto an increased turning resistance which means that the current or powerdemand of the electric motor 23 increases. By sensing this the fillcondition of the bag can be indicated and might be connected to thefunctions of the vacuum cleaner and for example turn off the vacuumcleaner.

When the dust bag 37 a has been filled the tube halves 26 are turnedfrom one another after which the bag 37 a is pulled out such that it isplaced immediately outside the collecting container. This means that apart of the tube 31 is pulled out of the cassette 30. Then the two tubehalves 26 are closed the and sealing and separating device 41 isactivated which means that the opening of the bag 37 a and the bottom ofthe bag 37 will be sealed at the same time as the two bags are separatedfrom one another. The vacuum cleaner can then again be activated whichmeans that the subatmospheric pressure created in the tube connection16, which is greater than the subatmospheric pressure in the bag 37 andwhich is separated from it by means of the sealing 38, will pull the bagout towards the surrounding walls in the collecting container 21 beforethe bag again starts to be filled with particles.

When the tube 31 is finished the complete cassette 30 is pulled out fromthe collecting container 21 and a new cassette is pushed on the tubepart 18 after which a suitable length of the tube 31 is pulled out andis sealed at its end by activating the sealing means 41.

It should be pointed out that the welding arrangement described abovecan be replaced by other types of sealing arrangements for instance bymeans of tape or clips, sealing by means of mechanical deformation ofthe plastic material (toggle joint) these devices preferably beingcombined with a knife for separating the filled bag.

1. Device for a vacuum cleaner comprising a cyclone chamber (10) and acollecting container (21) arranged in association with the cyclonechamber for particles separated by the cyclone, the cyclone comprisingan inlet (14) for dust laden air, a particle outlet (17) for particlesseparated by the cyclone and an outlet (15) for cleaned air the lastmentioned outlet being connected to a vacuum source and the particleoutlet (17) via a tube part (18) ending in the collecting container (21)characterized in that the collecting container comprises a dust bag (37)for collecting the dust particles which is a part of a continuousflexible tube (31) of non air pervious material intended to createseveral bags.
 2. Device according to claim 1 characterized in that amain part of the tube (31) is supported by means of a removable cassette(30) arranged at one end of the collecting container (21) the tube (31)and the cassette (30) surrounding a part of the tube part (18) thatextends into the collecting container (21).
 3. Device according to claim2 characterized in that the cassette (30) is formed by means of twosleeve shaped parts (32, 33) that at one of their ends are connected toone another by means of an end wall (34) whereby an annular chamberenclosing a major part of the tube (31) is created.
 4. Device accordingto claim 2 or 3 characterized in that the part of the cassette (30) thatfaces the other end of the collecting container (21) is provided with anopening (36) through which the continuous tube (31) extends.
 5. Deviceaccording to claim 2 characterized in that the part of the cassette (30)that faces the tube part (18) is provided with a sealing (38) thatsurrounds the tube part and prevents air from entering between thecassette and the tube part.
 6. Device according to claim 1 characterizedin that the bottom of the vacuum cleaner dust bag (37) on which theparticles are collected is a sealed end of the continuous tube, whichend by welding is sealed by means of a sealing device (41) arranged atthe collecting container.
 7. Device according to claim 6 characterizedin that the sealing device (41) is provided with means forsimultaneously sealing and separating a tube portion from the end of thetube and to seal that end of the tube portion which is closest to thesealing device when the tube portion has been pulled out from thecollecting container whereby the tube portion together with its contentforms a sealed bag.
 8. Device according to claim 1 characterized in thatthe collecting container (21) by means of an air passage (40)communicates with the air flowing to the vacuum source at a pointup-stream the outlet (15) for cleaned air in the cyclone chamber (10).9. Device according to claim 1 characterized in that said tube part (18)encloses a screw conveyor (22).
 10. Device according to claim 9characterized in that the screw conveyor (22) is driven by an electricmotor (23) the current or power demand of the electric motor being usedto indicate the fill state in the collecting container (21).
 11. Devicefor a vacuum cleaner comprising a cyclone chamber (10) and a collectingcontainer (21) arranged in association with the cyclone chamber forparticles separated by the cyclone, the cyclone comprising an inlet (14)for dust laden air, a particle outlet (17) for particles separated bythe cyclone and an outlet (15) for cleaned air the last mentioned outletbeing connected to a vacuum source and the particle outlet (17) via atube part (18) ending in the collecting container (21) characterized inthat the collecting container comprises a dust bag (37) for collectingthe dust particles which is a part of a continuous flexible tube (31) ofnon air pervious material intended to create several bags, furthercharacterized in that the device comprises a cassette comprising ahousing having two sleeve shaped parts (32, 33) that at both ends areprovided with an end wall (34, 35), where at least one of the end walls(34) connects the two sleeves with one another, and whereas the cassetteclose to the other end wall is provided with an opening (36) throughwhich the tube (31), stored between the sleeves, of non air perviousmaterial can be pulled out from the cassette.
 12. Device for a vacuumcleaner comprising a cyclone chamber (10) and a collecting container(21) arranged in association with the cyclone chamber for particlesseparated by the cyclone, the cyclone comprising an inlet (14) for dustladen air, a particle outlet (17) for particles separated by the cycloneand an outlet (15) for cleaned air, the last mentioned outlet (15) beingconnected to a vacuum source, and the particle outlet (17) via a tubepart (18) ending in the collecting container (21), characterized in thatthe collecting container comprises a dust bag (37) for collecting thedust particles which is a part of a continuous flexible tube (31) of nonair pervious material intended to create several bags; and furthercharacterized in that the dust bag (37) is contained within a cassettethat comprises a housing having two sleeve shaped parts (32, 33), atleast one of the sleeve shaped parts (32, 33) having an end that isprovided with an end wall (35) that is provided with an opening (36)through which the tube (31), stored between the sleeves, of non airpervious material can be pulled out from the cassette.
 13. Deviceaccording to claim 12 characterized in that at least one of the sleeveshaped parts (32, 33) is provided with an end wall (34) that connectsthe two sleeves with one another.